


A Pirate's Life for Me

by SpraceJunkie



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Good ol' Captain Jack, M/M, Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 08:26:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15190799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpraceJunkie/pseuds/SpraceJunkie
Summary: Jack and Crutchie are pirate captains, David Jacobs is an accidental runaway who might discover being a pirate isn't so bad after all.





	A Pirate's Life for Me

When the sun set on the ocean, everything glowed red.

The water turned to gold, the clouds were pink and orange, the sky was blood red, and Jack knew that meant tomorrow would be a good day for sailing.

“Wind’s at our back, we’ll get there before sunrise at this pace.” Race dropped down from the main mast, landing nimbly at Jack’s feet. “Finch has first watch with Specs.”

“Sounds good. We’re ready?”

“As ready as we ever are.” Race grinned and ran a hand through his hair, turning it from windblown to wild. “Is she?”

“She said so in her last letter. How much on Pulitzer chasing us down?”

“All we have. Kidnapping his daughter right when she’s about to make him actually noble? That’ll be our worst offense yet.” Jack grinned back at his second in command.

“It’s bad luck to have a woman on board, you know.”

“Says the captain with four women who have won us more battles on their own than most of us can claim to have.”

“Yeah. Pirate women.”

“And Kat won’t make a good pirate?” Race hit Jack’s shoulder. “Don’t let her hear you say that. She’ll kill all of us and take our ship to boot.” Jack hit him back, letting it turn into a playful spar when Race picked up two oars from the side of the ship and threw one to Jack.

By the time Jack finally had Race backed against the mast, with both oars under his control, both of them laughing, Finch had scaled the mast and lit lamps along the way, lighting the deck.

The sun was gone, disappeared on the horizon, and the water glowed silver rather than gold under the moon and stars.

Under the deck, Jack could hear most of the crew talking loudly, sometimes randomly bursting into song. Specs was standing at the back of the ship, looking out and around for any signs of other ships.

They were close enough to land that watches were important. They couldn’t risk being seen only a few hours from the city, not when they were big enough names they could be recognized and they were, in fact, making the trip to kidnap an admiral’s daughter into a life of piracy.

Captain Joseph Pulitzer hated Jack, Crutchie and their crew, mostly because they always managed to outsmart him and get away with whatever they were stealing. Never anything from anybody who couldn’t survive it, but plenty from the merchants with fifty ships carrying silk that could sell from more money than anyone could ever need, or Navy ships carrying money from the treasuries. They could afford the loss, and Jack could more than afford to swoop in, steal it, and use it to feed himself, his crew, and the people who needed it wherever they happened to stop.

Technically, they were pirates. Legally, everything they did was illegal. Really, the poor liked them and the rich hated them. They did their best to avoid permanently hurting anyone, only stole from those who could afford it, and gave to the people who needed it.

Jack had always thought the government should be the ones considered pirates. They took from people who couldn’t afford it and didn’t give back at all.

When he dropped below the deck into the bunkroom, he was greeted by his crew.

“Jack, settle an argument, who would win in a fight, Spot or Race?” Romeo slung an arm around Jack’s neck, pulling him down at a table with Crutchie and JoJo.

“They wouldn’t actually fight, one of them would drag the other into a cabin and we wouldn’t see them until morning.”

Romeo laughed delightedly.

“I told you so, Jo, I’m not the only one who sees it.”

“You really think Spot is chasing Race?”

“I think Race is chasing Spot and Spot sure ain’t saying no.” JoJo stuck out his tongue, and Crutchie laughed, flicking his long hair over his shoulder.

“He’s saying yes, only Captain Spot Conlon doesn’t ask for anything, he waits for other people to ask him.” Crutchie said.

“Jack, you’re slandering my good name?” Race plopped himself down in Romeo’s lap, stealing JoJo’s bread while he did. “I can’t believe you.”

“You do a good enough job slandering your own name, Race, Jack doesn’t need to do anything.” JoJo tried to pull his roll back, but only succeeded in ripping it in half.

“Hey, I am a respectable and upstanding citizen of the great empire and do not deserve this treatment!”

“You’re literally a pirate. Literally.”

“Your point?” Race shoved the entire half of bread he was still holding into his mouth. 

“Pulitzer is pretty much just a paid pirate and everyone loves him.” He sprayed breadcrumbs everywhere, and Crutchie made a face, brushing himself off.

“Disgusting, Race.”

“Eh, fuck off.” Race let himself slide off Romeo’s lap and stalked away. It would have been dignified if he hadn’t ended it by spinning on his heel, flipping Crutchie off, and falling over when the ship rolled slightly.

“For somebody who thinks he’s enough of a sailor to disrespect his captain, your sea legs are quite awkward.” Crutchie said, but he grinned and sent the same hand gesture back at Race. Jack laughed and fell into his normal, easy conversation with the people around him.

Before he’d become a pirate, Jack had thought they were the lowest of the low in terms of demeanor and social status. He hadn’t exactly been the highest himself, son of a shopkeep who couldn’t keep shop well enough to keep money in his pockets or food on the table and a woman who had either died or left before he could even call her “Mother.”

But pirates, they were supposed to be murderers who ransacked towns and stole everything in sight, living off the labor of other people and not caring who they hurt. They were the enemies of the working class. No matter how much he hated the rich people who never bothered to help him and his father as they were starving, pirates were worse, because they didn’t only ignore the poor, they hurt them.

And then he’d joined the navy, and three months later ran away and ended up on board a pirate ship and discovered being a pirate was a lot different from what he’d been told, and an entire different world from the navy he’d run away from.

The ship was clean, there was no animosity that couldn’t be solved with a drink and maybe a spar, and the food was almost always fresh enough that there were no bug in it.

By the time he was captain, he knew that sometimes, doing things illegally was the only way to actually get things done. Sometimes, stealing was worth it if it meant giving to people who needed it, and sometimes, something being illegal didn’t mean it was actually wrong.

The next morning’s objective being a case in point.

“Crutch, time?”

“For bed.” Crutchie stretched and stood up, kicking his crutches up with his good leg and looking around the room. “For everyone.” When people groaned, Crutchie shook his head.  
“No complaining. Tomorrow we’re kidnapping a rich man’s daughter at dawn; we can’t afford anybody being off their game.” The crew slowly moved towards their beds, snuffing lamps and pulling off layers of clothes as they went. Jack followed Crutchie to the cabin they shared, thinking over their plan for the morning.

“The docks at dawn, open sea by noon, the hideout at Gasper’s by Friday.”

“Katherine on board, Pulitzer left behind, hurrah.” Crutchie sat down on his bed, pulling his shirt off. “Pulitzer doesn’t get to be noble, we get to keep Katherine, and everything is fine and dandy.” Jack yawned and laid back on his own bed.

“Kidnapping, stealing, driving the rich mad, it’s a pirate’s life for me.” He said, grinning even as he closed his eyes to go to sleep.

“Yo ho, yo ho.” Before he even realized he’d fallen asleep, he was woken up by Race’s piercing whistle from the deck outside the cabin, alerting the crew that it was time to start getting ready for the day at hand.

“Time to fly.” Crutchie was pulling a shirt over his head, grinning madly and reaching for his hat.

“That hat is ridiculous.” Jack couldn’t help but smile at the look Crutchie had going. His hat was tricorn and exactly what people thought of when they thought pirates, his hair was longer than any of the girls’ and in dreadlocks down his back, and the wide, bright green belt he tied around his waist stood out against his otherwise dark clothing and skin.

“You’re ridiculous.” Crutchie always got more hyper right before they did something; as he pulled himself on his crutches, Jack could see him doing his equivalent of bouncing on his heels, bending his good knee over and over again, just slightly, and rocking back and forth with the motion of the ship. His eyes were lit up, and his grin didn’t fade while he watched Jack pull on his own raid gear, his belt with a place for his sword and the little gun he kept just in case. “Let’s go kidnap us an admiral’s daughter.”

“Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.” Jack met his grin and pulled open the door of the cabin, stepping onto the dimly lit deck.

The sun was starting to rise, showing the city barely over the horizon and lighting the water rose pink. The rest of the crew was climbing up onto the deck, looking more awake than they usually did at dawn.

“Crutchie, Race and I will be taking the skiff down to the docks. Katherine will be waiting for us under the docks. We’ll be back in two hours or less. Finch, Specs, and JoJo, make sure we’re ready to go. Romeo, Buttons, be ready to pull us up as soon as we’re close enough. Small, Sniper, watch for us and for anyone else who might interfere. Keep our flags down, we look like a merchant resting without them from far enough away.” Jack said simply, watching faces to make sure they understood. “This one is dangerous. We don’t leave fast enough, none of us leave at all. We need to make it to Gasper’s by Friday, or Pulitzer will track us down and he won’t hesitate to blow us out of the water. Everyone needs to be ready when we get back, got it?” There was a murmur of agreement from everyone on deck while they spread out to their various places. Romeo and Buttons followed the three of them down to the skiff, lowering them silently to the water where Jack and Race started to row while Crutchie pulled the small sail up to speed them up.

It only took about forty-five minutes to get to the docks, shorter than expected. Of course, one thing going better than expected meant everything had to go wrong.

Katherine was under the docks, all right, but there was somebody else there with her, somebody tall and thin.

“Shit!” Race and Jack immediately pulled their oars backward, and Crutchie dropped the sail, but Katherine and the other person had already seen them. Katherine waved them forward, but they approached slowly, wary of somebody they hadn’t met and didn’t know was going to be there.

“You can’t, Katherine! You know you can’t!”

“I can and I am, David Jacobs! Let go of my arm before I throw you in the water!”

“Katherine, your father will kill me!”

“I’m leaving, David, let go of me!” Katherine pulled her arm out of the boy’s grip and lifted her skirts to step in the boat. Jack and Crutchie exchanged a look, worried.

“Katherine-“

“David, shut up! Do you want to get all of us caught! Be quiet!” It was light enough that people were starting to wake up and move around and Jack got more nervous the more the boy spoke.

“Kat, we need to go now.” He said, looking at the boy pointedly.

“I’m leaving David. Goodbye.” She stepped into the boat, sitting down and settling in.

“You can’t!” Crutchie huffed and pulled his own sword out.

Jack and Race knew it was just for show, Crutchie didn’t need anything other than his crutches and good leg to win a fight, but even in the low light they could see the boy pale.

“Listen, David, she’s coming. You have three minutes to leave before we take you with us. We’re risking our necks for this and you’re not messing it up for us.” Jack knew it was a bluff, they wouldn’t force anybody else into their boat, they weren’t prepared to take in somebody else, especially somebody who clearly wouldn’t pull his own weight.

It was to everybody’s surprise when the boy defiantly sucked in his breath and stepped into the boat.

“I won’t let you do this, Katherine.”

“David, I have nothing for me here. My father is going to marry me off to lord rich boy, he won’t let me continue my education, and I refuse to let that happen. You have everything left.” David huffed out through his nose. “Well. Mostly, anyway. At least you could avoid it.”

“If you’re going, I’m going. I refuse to let you do this alone.”

“Now is not the time to be noble, David!”

“Listen, as cute as this fuckery is, either we leave now or we all get caught and die. Is he staying or going?” Race asked, sounding lazy but in the way that Jack knew meant he was analyzing everything to the second.

“I’m going with Katherine.” Race shrugged and looked to Jack and Crutchie.

“Sails up.” Crutchie pulled it taught, up as far as it would go, as soon as Jack and Race got them into the wind. It seemed like it took less time to get back to the ship, and even as Katherine laughed and let her hair loose from the tight braids it had been in and fell into easy conversation with the three of them, David sat in stony silence and only looked at his hands.  
Race let out his whistle when they were close enough for it to reach the ship, and everything bustled into motion. The ropes dropped down to them to tie to the ship to pull up, and the skiff jerkily came to the deck.

Crutchie got himself out of the skiff and quickly made his way to the stern, taking the wheel from Specs and barking out his usual orders to the people on sails and deck. Jack offered his hand to Katherine laughing when she rejected it in favor of swinging herself up and over the side.

David looked around, taking in the bustle of the rest of the crew pulling ropes and tying knots and scaling masts.

“You’re pirates!”

“What did you think we were, fairies?” Race said sarcastically, pulling a rope past them and securing it in its place.

“See that trapdoor?” Jack pointed until David nodded. “Go down there and stay down there, out of the way, until somebody says otherwise. We can let you off when we stop at a port next.”

“You expect me to-“

“I expect you to listen, since, like you just so intelligently noted, we are pirates. We know what we’re doing, you’ll be in the way. Get down there. Katherine will be down soon.” David huffed again, but turned and let himself down into the hold. Jack met Katherine’s eye and gestured her to follow, grinning at her eye roll.

“I’ll be a pirate someday, Jack.”

“Someday, but not today, as we hope to get away before your father catches and kills us all.” Katherine laughed and dropped down too, shutting the trapdoor behind her.

“Time to fly!” Crutchie called from the stern, letting everyone know the ship was about to start picking up speed.

“Ship on the horizon!” Sniper called from her position up on the main mast.

“Flags?”

“Navy!”

“Full speed, we’re faster than them! Once it’s clear we’ll escape, raise ours!”

“Yes, sir!” The navy ship was far enough away and going slow enough Jack could tell it’d be gone over the horizon before it had the chance to catch up with them. Jack joined Crutchie on the stern, watching his crew run their well-practiced dance and get the ship on the course towards Gasper’s.

Katherine fell into a routine alongside everyone else within three days. Sniper helped her cut her hair short enough to tuck under a hat without it being too obvious in case she needed to hid somewhere, she learned to pull her own weight, literally, with sails, and she looked like she was enjoying every second of it.

David Jacobs was almost exactly the opposite. He didn’t complain, much, he tried to do what he was told for the most part, and he wasn’t stupid. He was good at tying knots, so that’s what Jack and Crutchie mostly asked him to do.

He didn’t work as quickly as the others, which was fine, he was new and didn’t even want to be a pirate, and he didn’t work as long as the others, which was mildly irritating but also understandable.

He was absolutely miserable.

After his first night, he was so tired the next morning from his inability to sleep in a hammock that Jack offered him his bed. He’d never seen anyone turn as red as David when he and Crutchie both stripped to their underwear and climbed into the same bed.

Somehow, he managed to blush even deeper when he woke up and saw how they’d managed to tangle themselves together while they slept.

While Katherine fit right in and immediately felt like she had always been part of the crew, David just didn’t. He was so much a rich kid who had never wanted to rebel that it was hard for him to accept his new role.

Jack figured they would let him leave after they left Gasper’s, after hiding out for a few weeks and making sure Pulitzer had no idea where to look for them. Once they were sure, chances were they could avoid him for months if not longer, and it would be perfectly safe to pull into a small port and let David find his own way back home.

Gasper’s was about four days away from the docks where they’d picked up Katherine and David, and the wind got them there right on schedule, Friday before sunset. It was a wide, open bay, just barely deep enough for their ship and hidden away in the middle of an island that looked impossible to dock on. They’d only found it when Race and Romeo had gotten really, really lost in the skiff and come back two days later with news that the river actually did lead somewhere and was deep enough to use, even though it didn’t look it. It was pretty; what looked like rocky cliffs from the outside ended up being much more gently sloped from the inside and with plenty of plants and animals they could harvest or hunt. It was the perfect hideout for a ship of pirates, and had helped Jack’s crew earn their reputation of being able to disappear into thin air for long periods of time.

As soon as they pulled in and dropped anchor, crew members were whooping and jumping into the water, not willing to wait for the skiff to run them to land. Katherine stayed back with Jack and David to take the skiff, but she looked just as excited as the rest of them.

“Can you swim, Kat?” Jack asked, realizing that was probably why she hadn’t followed her friends off the side.

“Not really.”

“You?” He looked to David.

“No.”

“We’ll have to teach you. It’s dangerous to not be able to swim on a ship.”

“The navy doesn’t teach sailors to swim.” David stated, like that would convince Jack he was wrong. Jack laughed.

“The navy doesn’t teach sailors to swim because the navy doesn’t want deserters, and that’s the solid truth. Shoulda seen the looks I got when I said I could swim when I joined. The high ups hated me for it.”

“You were in the navy?” David looked both shocked and curious. “Then how are you a pirate now?”

“Navy didn’t care for me, I didn’t care for them. I left as soon as I could and ended up where I am now.” Jack grinned at Katherine.

“Common phenomena for people to run away from those who don’t care, apparently.”

“Your father cares for you!” David insisted.

“Enough to force me to marry a man so he gets more powerful and to tell me I didn’t get to learn anything more in case I was threatening to men. Please, David, this life is already better.” They were close enough to shore for Katherine to hop out with Jack and pull the skiff up on the beach.

“The water ain’t gonna bite you, David. Promise.” Jack held out a hand and helped David up and over the side of the skiff. “Look, I know you don’t trust us, but we’re stuck here for a while. You gotta loosen up a little. You’re stuck with us until we can leave.”

“You said you would let me-“

“We’re gonna let you off when we get to a port. We won’t be getting to one for a long time. We’re here at least a month, maybe longer. We ain’t risking leaving here until we know for sure Pulitzer ain’t waiting for us out there somewhere close.” Jack tugged on the ship one more time, making sure it was up high enough the tide wouldn’t pull it out. “We’re all stuck.”

“Jacky, me and Rome are goin’ to get something fresh to eat. No more biscuits and jerky tonight!” Race was bouncing on his heels, grinning from ear to ear.

“Okay!” Race pretty much skipped away, with Romeo tagging alongside next to him into the woods. The other crew members were either swimming or setting up camp, collecting firewood and pulling equipment from the various places they’d stored it last time they left.

“How do we stay here for a month?” David looked around almost anxiously.

“There’s plenty of food all over the island, and plenty of firewood. Nobody but us knows about this place, and tomorrow we’ll bring the hammocks over and finish setting up shelters and such. This is our best hideout.” David didn’t look convinced. “We’ll have fun. I’ll teach you to swim, you’ll learn more about sailing, who knows, maybe by the time we leave you’ll want to be a pirate forever.” David looked nauseous. “I’m kidding. But I am teaching you how to swim. Everybody on my ship knows how to swim.”

David looked out at the water, looking even sicker.

Jack shook his head, smiling in spite of himself and gesturing towards the camp.

“C’mon, David. We have work to do for now.”

It took about three days to get camp set up all the way.

Specs and Buttons had set up a makeshift kitchen that Jack knew from experience would evolve until it made everyone sad when they had to take it apart when they left. Everyone built their own lean to or worked with several people to build bigger ones. Crutchie and Jack helped David help them, teaching him how to use wood and basic tools to keep a roof over their heads.

He still turned bright red and turned away when they changed, but the longer it went on the more they both thought it was kind of funny.

“Okay. David. Look. Two days ago, Katherine didn’t know how to swim, either, and look at her! She’s out there with everyone!”

“It’s indecent!”

“She’s completely covered and so is everyone. You need to learn how to swim, Dave!”

“You are _not_ completely covered!”

“David. I’m wearing pants. Are you telling me you’ve never seen a man without his shirt before?” Jack asked incredulously. “I’ll put on a shirt if that’s what it takes to get you in the water.” David nodded, so Jack found a shirt and pulled it on quickly. “Just come out here with me. I won’t let you drown, I promise.”

Hesitantly, David stepped out into the water, cringing when the water hit his pants.

“You’re taller than me. As long as my feet are on the ground, yours will be too. We won’t go further than that, okay?”

“What if there’s something alive?” Jack laughed.

“David, we’ve been eating fish for a week, where did you think it was coming from? The water is clear enough you could see anything big. You’re safe.” Looking doubtful, David followed Jack out to where the water went to his waist. “That’s good. Okay, see, the water is fine. You’ll feel better once you can swim; you’ll stay cooler and feel safer. Come out a little more, out to your chest, see?”

“I don’t want to.”

“David. I can touch here, and you’re taller than me.” Reluctantly, David came out. “Use your arms like this, see? It helps you move.” Jack exaggerated his arm movements to get David to copy him. “Just like that. Pick your feet up and see if you move.” David briefly picked his feet up and moved forward a little bit, but quickly went under and stood up, coughing. “Normally you hold your breath when your head goes under.”

“Thanks, I figured that out.” David shot back scathingly. Jack had to laugh again, this time delightedly. It was the first time David had let his educated rich man face slip. “Stop laughing at me!”

“I was laughing at your response. Maybe we should try floating before swimming. Take a breath and flip onto your back. We can go shallower for this one.” David glared at him, which just made Jack laugh again.

It took over a week to teach David to swim, but over the course of that week Jack found himself laughing and enjoying his company. Once he was tired or frustrated enough, he had a good sense of humor, and was good at comebacks.

He finally learned to sleep in a hammock, and learned people’s names. He worked harder, and the harder he worked, the happier he seemed.

“Y’know, maybe he really will want to stay a pirate when we leave.” Crutchie remarked, lying with his head on Jack’s stomach and watching lazily while people added wood the fire, David included.

“Maybe. He could learn.” Jack was just as lazily playing with Crutchie’s hair.

“He could.” Crutchie looked up at Jack and smiled. “He’s got the mouth.”

“He sure does. Didn’t seem like the type.”

“Shoulda heard him with Race yesterday. Swearing almost as bad as Race was by the afternoon.” Jack laughed, which made Crutchie laugh as his head bounced on Jack’s stomach. David looked over to them while he kept adding wood to the fire.

Crutchie liked to stay up late and make sure himself that the fire was put out before he went to bed, which meant Jack and David were alone before going to sleep.

“Jack, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Something…weird?” Jack looked up at him and saw he was nervous about whatever he was about to ask.

“Yeah.”

“You and Crutchie…you…” He trailed off like he couldn’t finish his sentence.

“We what?”

“You…you’re….like…” He made a face like he wanted Jack to just understand.

“I’m sorry, Dave, I don’t know what you’re trying to ask.”

“You’re…you’re seeing each other!” He turned bright red and started bouncing when he said it, even more so when Jack started laughing.

“No! I mean, I guess I see why you’d think so, really, but he’s more like my brother than anything else!” David turned away, hiding his face. “Why do you ask?”

“I just…I thought, I guess, you…”

“I mean, it ain’t like I’m gonna pretend that I don’t find men attractive, Dave, if that’s what you’re worried about. Most of us ain’t gonna deny that, look around. Specs and Rome, Buttons and JoJo, Race has been chasing another captain for more ‘n a year now. If you’re worried ‘cause you think we’ll think less of you for being like that, you ain’t gotta. But me and Crutchie, we ain’t together.”

“I…I am.” Jack smiled at him, which seemed to encourage him. “I mean, I like...men.” His blush didn’t fade at all, but he smiled a little bit too.

“Nobody here is going to think differently of you for it.” David nodded and sat down on his hammock to pull off his boots. “Just get some sleep.” Jack folded himself into his own hammock and closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the little waves on the beach and the last crew members up and about starting to get ready for bed.

They ended up staying at Gasper’s for almost two full months, both because the rest was nice and because Jack and Crutchie really wanted to make sure Pulitzer didn’t know where they were and wasn’t going to be waiting for them when they left.

It took almost an entire day to get everyone and everything back on board, after making as much food to take with them as they could for two weeks. They smoked and salted whatever meat they could, baked as many hard biscuits as they could, and took down all their shelters and stored the wood in their various places around the beach.

They made it out onto the ocean before sunset, everyone falling back into their routine, drawing for watches and hanging hammocks back up in their place.

Jack and Crutchie moved back into their cabin, pinning their maps back up on the wall and tying down everything else they needed to stay put. Katherine moved into the girl’s section of hammocks, still content to work with them. David took a hammock too, and actually did seem like he was pretty happy to be where he was.

“Jack, ship on horizon!” Romeo called down a little after sunrise on the third day away from Gasper’s.

“Flags?”

“I can’t tell yet. Not the navy, wrong colors, but something!”

“Keep watching.” Jack could see the ship on the horizon, it was big, but he also couldn’t tell what it was.

Romeo dropped down a few seconds later, grinning wildly.

“Race! Your sweetheart’s here!” Race’s head popped up from inside a cannon, officially because he was cleaning it but Jack suspected he had been napping.

“What?”

“Know any other ship that flies Spot’s insignia?” Race tumbled to the deck in his haste to get out of the cannon, snatching Romeo’s telescope and scaling the mast quickly.

“What going on?” David appeared at Jack’s side, a dirty cloth in his hand telling Jack he’d actually been doing his job and cleaning the cannons on the other side of the ship.

“It’s Spot!” Race whooped and slid down the mast.

“That what I just said.” Romeo replied, grabbing his telescoped back and rubbing Race’s greasy fingerprints off it.

“Who’s Spot?”

“Another pirate captain.” Jack said. “Race’s been trying to get in his pants for at least a year now.”

“Fuck off!”

“If not why are you so excited to see his ship?”

“Because I enjoy the company of him and his crew!” Race stalked off indignantly, and Jack knew when he reappeared, his hair would be halfway tamed and all the cannon grease would be off his face and hands. He’d probably be wearing clean clothes, too.

“Is he...he’s coming here?” David looked nervous. Jack laughed.

“Still scared of pirates after spending all this time with us?” He threw an arm around David’s shoulder, but let it drop away quickly, since David tensed when Jack touched him.

“You're...you’re not…it’s different.”

“He follows the same philosophy as us. Avoid killing as much as possible, only steal from those who can afford it.” His ship was close enough now that Jack could make out the flag flying high, red corners with a blue stripe and diamond, crossed white keys in the middle, Spot’s insignia.

“Raise ours! Fly it high, slow the ship!” Jack took control, stepping up behind the wheel.

Romeo pulled their personal flag from where it was stored by the base of the mast, tying it quickly and pulling it up high and proud. Theirs was much more simple, Finch had sewn it himself, just a light blue background with an orange criss-cross and a bright yellow sun, but as soon as it was up, Spot’s ship turned and stared heading to meet them.

Race reappeared a few minutes later, just before they were close enough for anyone to cross over between ships. Like Jack had expected, he was all cleaned up, though it was clear once his hair dried all the way the curls would be back to their normal messy cowlicks. He was grinning and bouncing on the balls of his feet near the edge of the ship, ready to jump across as soon as they were close enough to lay out planks.

Both ships dropped their anchors, and the crews were calling across to each other, laughing and chatting.

Race was the first across, hurtling towards the back of Spot’s ship, practically leaping into the other captain’s arms.

“I gotta greet Jack and Crutchie! Get offa me, we’ll talk in a minute, Race! Stop!”

He’d looked dignified and in control thirty seconds before, standing with his hands still on the wheel while waiting for his ship to be fully stopped, but Race had practically dragged him to the ground.

“Jacky. Crutchie.” Spot shook both of their hands, straightening his clothes and giving Race a look that was either mean or bedroom eyes, it could have gone either way.

“Spot.” Crutchie smiled at him. “Stay out of our cabin.”

“Whyever would I go in your cabin?” Spot smirked at them. “But no promises.”

The rest of Spot’s crew came flooding over, and in the confusion, Spot and Race slipped away somewhere.

Jack knew nothing had actually happened between them yet, but was willing to put money on it that something was happening now.

“If I go knock on that door-”

“Leave them alone. If they mess up our room, we’ll make Race clean it.” Crutchie shook his head.

“Disgusting.”

“Like you haven't-”

“It’s my bed! My bed is neither Spot’s nor Race’s!” Crutchie said indignantly. He was soon distracted by all the old friends surrounding them.

“What...what are they going to do in your cabin?” David was blushing enough that Jack knew he knew _exactly_ what Spot and Race were going to get up to, and was hoping Jack would contradict him.

“I think they went over to Spot’s ship, thank god.”

“But...what-”

“If you really want me to spell it out for you, I will, but I’m guess you don’t wanna know more than you already do.” David’s blush darkened even more, making Jack laugh again.

They kept their ships connected until almost sunset the next day.

Race had reappeared on their ship in the morning, looking decidedly disheveled and entirely too pleased about it, Spot tagging behind him looking much more put together and just as smug. Katherine had made friends with most of the other crew, half with her sense of humor and willingness to call people out and half with her willingness to dish out all sorts of good stories about Pulitzer nobody had ever heard before, and David was acting weird again. Like he something was bothering him, but he didn’t want to talk about it.

They were headed to Keelhaul Bay, one of the least savory places on this ocean but also one of the safest for a crew of pirates. It was high summer, though, making everyone lazy and tired while the sun was up, and even more exhausted by sunset after working in the sun all day.

As captains, it didn’t feel right to not something about it, which led to Jack standing on the edge of his ship, back to the water, in nothing but his long cotton underwear, Crutchie standing in front of him with a wooden sword under his chin, and their crew laughing hysterically all around them. In a well practiced move, Crutchie pressed the flat of the wooden blade against Jack throat and pushed backwards, sending him toppling off the railing and flailing into the water. Jack pulled his arms and legs together as he fell, knowing from experience that hitting the water flat was a bad idea, and plunged into the green water.

He loved swimming on the open ocean. When he opened his eyes after he was submerged, everything was blue and green and bubbles, with light streaming down around him and darkness below him. 

“-happened?” When he broke the surface again, David’s somewhat frantic voice was the first thing he heard.

“Water’s lovely this time of year!” Jack called up, narrowly avoiding a mouthful of saltwater. David’s head popped over the side of the ship.

“Jack! Are you okay? What happened?”

“I jumped!” A blur splashed into the water next to him, and a few seconds later, Race popped up next to him.

One by one, other members of the crew stripped and jumped over the side.

“Hey! Ay! Somebody let a rope down before we’re all stuck in the ocean with no way back onto the ship!” Jack yelled before everyone joined him, and a few ropes were tossed over the side, dangling down to the water so they could climb back up the hull when they wanted to get out.

Jack pulled himself up, walking himself up the side until he could pull himself over the railing, flopping to the deck and laughing at the look on David’s face.

“Guess I forgot to wake you up.”

“You...the...do you...you can’t even see the bottom!” Jack laughed again, standing up.

“Course not, this is the open ocean. Wanna go in?”

“No! I do not!” Jack knew David was a pretty good swimmer after their two months at Gasper’s, and he also knew throwing him in would be a fast way to get David mad at him.

He also knew it would be worth it, especially once Crutchie held up the pocket watch he’d slipped from David’s pocket without him noticing, meaning nothing would be ruined but his clothes, which were borrowed from Race, anyway.

He shrugged and went to the railing, looking down over at his crew swimming in the shadow of the ship.

Romeo was clinging to the anchor chain, which Jack knew would probably result in him hurting himself, and a few of them had brought pieces of unusable wood to float on without having to work too hard at staying up. 

David joined him, also leaning over to watch, and as soon as he felt him relax, Jack grabbed his waist and rolled forward sending them over the edge. David let out a scream so high pitched it sounded like either a girl or a bird, and Jack had to hug him tight before they hit the water so he didn’t hurt himself. 

He flailed hard enough once they were under the water that Jack had to mostly let go, pulling him up towards the surface by the back of his shirt.

He’d held his breath much better than he had the first time he’d gone under at Gasper’s, and Jack told him as much when they broke the surface.

“You...you complete, total, intolerable, donkey-faced, cow-handed, scampish asshole!” He was treading water just fine, Jack noted, considered he held his head above the waves long enough for that string of insults.

“Not enough swearing!” Race called, dangling from one of the ropes, laughing so hard it looked like he might fall off. “He deserves worse than that! You know he did it on purpose!”

Jack was laughing right alone with him, and Crutchie came hurtling down to join them all, popping up coughing from laughing, too.

“He’s a fucking asshole, that’s what he is!” Encouraged Buttons.

David seemed to be so angry he couldn’t even put his thoughts into good enough insults to say out loud.

“I can’t even fucking swim!” He finally shouted.

“I know you’re the educated one and all, but, Dave, what do you call what you’re doing right now if not swimming?” Jack grinned, trying to stop laughing out loud. David just huffed and pulled himself completely out of Jack’s grip and started swimming for the ship.

“You were mean.” Crutchie said.

“Oh, very.”

“He’s mad at you.”

“Yep.”

“You’re probably gonna have to pull him up.”

“Oh, I know.” Jack grinned.

“And lend him your clothes.”

“Yessir!” Jack laughed again and swam for one of the other ropes, scaling it as quickly as possible and tumbling onto the almost completely empty ship and starting to pull David’s rope up.

“I don’t need your help, Jack Kelly!” He kept pulling anyway, until he saw David’s hands grab the railing. Then he just sat down and leaned against the mast, watching David pull himself over with a grin on his face.

“I...I cannot believe...I can’t believe you did that to me!”

“Doncha feel better now? Not as hot, more awake, ready to take on the world?”

“I feel wet, salty, and covered in fish piss!”

“That’s the spirit!” Jack closed his eyes, waiting for David to make the next move.

“I don’t have any more clothes, you’ve ruined my boots, you aren’t wearing clothes, and how the hell am I supposed to clean myself off?”

“You can borrow some of my clothes, your boots are fine, saltwater doesn’t hurt leather if we wash them, you’re right, I’m not, nice observation, just my skivs, and a sponge bath does wonders for the skin.” He said lazily. He could tell David was running out of steam and calming down. “We can pick out clothes now if you want. Or you could get back in the water. It’s hot out.”

“I want clothes.” He said stiffly.

“To my cabin, then.” Jack stood up and offered David his hand, which was refused. He opened his trunk for him and gestured. “Plenty of it is probably pretty small for you. Since you’re, you know, tall.” Jack sat on his bed, leaning back on his hands.

Appreciating the view.

He liked David, he’d realized a while ago. While he had his moments of stuck up rich boy-ness, he’d come a long way since he’d joined the crew. He worked hard, didn’t complain, and got along well with the rest of the crew. Jack and Crutchie both thought he might be staying a little longer than he’d originally thought, since he was fitting in so well.

And he was cute. Even Race had pointed that out. Tall, dark hair, dramatic eyes, a nice smile. Jack had more drawings of David than he was willing to admit tucked in his drawing books hidden in his-

“What’s this?”  
Shit. His trunk. Hidden in his trunk under his clothes, both of which he’d just given David free reign of.

“Nothing! Mine! Private!” Jack yelped, trying to grab the leather bound book away from him but failing when David simply gave him a teasing smile and held it high above his head.

“Payback, then.” Jack could tell he was blushing enough it must have been showing through, and David noticed. “You’re actually embarrassed!”

“Those are private! They’re not for you to…” David opened the book and Jack flopped back on his bed dramatically. “See.”

David closed the trunk and sat down, flipping through the pages full of Jack’s drawings.

“I don’t know why you’re so embarrassed. These are gorgeous.” Jack closed his eyes, knowing he’d start finding drawings of himself soon. “That’s...that’s me.” Jack nodded. “And again. How...how many times did you draw me?”

He kept flipping and Jack knew he was finding his own face on at least every third page, along with portraits of the other crew members and drawings of a few other things, but nothing and nobody popped up as frequently as David.

“Why did you draw me so many times?” David looked up at Jack, looking genuinely puzzled.

“Cause I thyprddylkyo.”

“That...that wasn’t a word.”

“Cause I thinkyou’reprettyandIlikedrawingyou.” David tilted his head, and Jack saw him trying to figure out what Jack had spat out so quickly.

Without warning, he closed the book, handed it to Jack, and stood up and left, still in the dripping wet clothes and not taking dry ones with him.

“David!” He didn’t turn back to Jack, just let the closed the door to the cabin. A few seconds later, Jack heard the hatch to get below decks slam shut, and knew he was gone.

Jack didn’t stand up from his position on the bed, his drawing book resting on his chest, wishing he’d come up with a better reason as to why he’d been drawing David so much than “I think you’re pretty.”

Not that there really were any good reasons.

Well, Jack thought thinking he was pretty was a perfectly good reason, but he’d also thought nobody except him and maybe Crutchie if they were feeling sappy enough would ever see the book or all the drawings of David.

He must have fallen asleep, because when he opened his eyes next, Crutchie was sitting on his bed across from Jack, staring at him.

“What did you do?” He asked.

“Huh?”

“David has been down there in his hammock, either asleep or refusing to talk, and you swam for a grand total of a half hour before coming in here and falling asleep. Normally you’re the last one out of the water when we stop for a day. Your drawing book is out, but your pencils are all still put away, and there’s clothes all over the place, and you look miserable.”

“I dunno.”

“You dunno what? What you did?”

“No. I mean, yeah, sorta, but...I dunno.” Crutchie moved to Jack’s bed and laid down next to him.

“Wanna talk?”

“I-”

“Spill, Kelly. Bad blood in a crew is a bad thing, remember?”

“It’s...I don't think it’s bad blood.”

“What happened?”

“After we came up when I took him overboard with me.”

“Yeah.”

“I offered him some of my clothes. He went through my trunk. Found my drawings.” Jack offered the book to Crutchie to look through.

“Oh, Jacky. Subtlety is not your thing.”

“He never would have seen if I hadn’t let him go through my trunk! It was dumb. And now he knows I think he’s pretty and I guess it freaked him out.” Jack closed his eyes again and curled into Crutchie’s side. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know, Jacky. Want me to talk to him?”

“No. I...I mean I have to. Just...I want it to be private?”

“Okay.” Crutchie kissed the top of Jack’s head. “I love you Jacky.”

“I know.” Crutchie and Jack had been best friends for almost as long as Jack had been a pirate. Crutchie had been a cabin boy on a ship Jack’s ship had taken over right after he joined his first pirate crew, and had almost killed Jack before he’d realized they weren’t going to make him work for them if he joined. That if he joined, he wouldn’t be the only dark skinned person on board, nobody would treat him differently because of it.

Then he’d used the crutch he’d been prompted to use on Jack’s head on the stomach of the captain behind him, showed the pirates how to get into the hold, and helped steal every last bit of that silk.

Of course, that crew ended up being kind of the worst, but he and Jack had built up this one through blood, sweat, and being generally nicer and more fair than other pirate captains, and now they were pretty well known.

And through that, Crutchie had been Jack’s voice of reason when he needed it, and Jack had done his best to be Crutchie’s.

So of course it made sense for them to be so comfortable with each other that it was easy for Jack to fall asleep on top of him.

But also, because it had already managed to be a remarkably shitty day, he had to be woken up by the door opening slowly, only to open his eyes to see David standing there, looking kind of like he was going to be sick, before he slammed the door shut and ran away again.

“Go after him.” Crutchie murmured.

“I-”

“The longer you put it off, the worse it’ll get. Just go. At least try to fix it.” Crutchie pushed him off the bed.

“Since when are you good at relationship advice?”

“Since now.” Crutchie smiled sleepily. “Go.” 

David had disappeared when Jack stepped out on the deck, but Race pointed up the mast towards the crow’s nest.

The crow’s nest on their ship was just big enough for two people to sit down in, and when Jack made it up there, David was splayed out on his back, eyes closed.

“David?”

“Go away.”

“I...I just want to talk.”

“I don’t wanna talk to you.” Jack pulled himself into the basket, and David curled up as soon as he did, keeping them from touching at all.

“Then...then will you listen?”

“No.”

“I’m gonna talk anyway.” David didn’t respond. “I...I like you, okay? Jesus, I've made a mess of it today, but I like you a lot. I have for a while. I...I didn't mean to freak you out. You just...I...nobody is supposed to _see_ those drawings. Only Crutchie even knows about them, and you. Now. You know now. I...I was-”

“I’m not stupid, Jack.” David cut him off.

“I never-”

“You and Crutchie. I’m not stupid.” He sounded mad. “You told me on that stupid island and I actually fucking believed you, but-”

“Me and Crutchie-”

“I’m not blind! You’re always finding excuses to touch him, you fucking sleep together-”

“Hey, hey, I’ve never slept with him!” David flushed redder than Jack had ever seen.

“I didn't...I mean you share a bed! You’re together and you think you can lie to me and get-”

“We’re not together! Christ, David, I already told you this! He’s-”

“I’m not falling for that bullshit!” They were both yelling now and Jack knew that he’d have to deal with everyone who’d overheard them fighting when they came down.

“It’s not bullshit! We’re not together, we’ve never been together, he’s my best friend! My brother!” David scoffed and kicked the side of the basket.

“Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Kick it. It’s a basket. If it breaks, we both fall to our deaths.”

“That’s not what we were talking about!”

“I’m sorry I’m easily distracted and concerned for your safety!”

“Stop trying to change the subject!”

“I’m not trying to change the subject!”

“Well it sure feels like you are!”

“Well I’m not!” David didn’t respond, just looked angrily out to sea. “Why are you being so...so thick headed!”

“Don’t call me thick headed!”

“Then stop being thick headed!”

“I’m not being thick headed!”

“Yes, you are!”

“No, I’m not!”

“You are!”

“I’m not!”

“You are!” 

“You kinda are.” Race’s voice came from far to close to the crow’s nest, and when Jack popped his head up, he was tangled in the ropes right below them.

“Fuck off, Race, this is a private conversation!”

“Probably shouldn’t be yelling so loud, then.” Race grinned annoyingly up at Jack while disentangling himself, whistling cheerfully while he climbed down.

“Where were we?”

“I don’t know.” David said, quietly and bitterly.

“I promise, David, me and Crutchie...we’re not...never.”

“You know how stupid I feel right now, Jack? How stupid all of this makes me feel?” Jack was pretty sure he didn’t want a response to that. “I’ve spent my entire life hoping I’d either fall for a girl or be able to avoid marriage. And then I make a stupid choice to follow my best friend when she snuck out, and the next thing I know, I’m on a fucking pirate ship surrounded by men kissing other men and girls kissing other girls and everything I’ve though for forever is falling apart, and even after I told you I like boys you still don’t care if I see you shirtless or whatever. I’ve told one other guy, ever, and his response was to hit me and literally move to a different city! And then-” David laughed, almost hysterically. “And then I found those stupid drawings and there were a few hours where I thought maybe, maybe I hadn’t been imagining you flirting with me sometimes and I finally got my head around that and I open the door and there you are! Wrapped around Crutchie!”

“Sleeping!”

“With him!”

“Sleeping with someone definitely require a lot less clothes than-”

“You’re not even wearing clothes!”

“I’m not naked! And neither was he!”

“Just...just stop! Please? Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Getting my hopes up and then saying something that makes me think you don’t even care!”

“I...I do care.” Jack looked over to David, even though he was still pointedly avoiding eye contact. “A lot.”

“You care for your whole crew. I’ve heard the speech before.”

“No. I mean, yeah, I do, they’re my family-”

“You keep saying that.”

“What?”

“That they’re your family.” Now Jack was confused. Thrown off by the sudden change of subject.

“They...they are. All of them.”

“But…”

“None of us grew up with families like you and Kat, Dave. I never even knew my mother, I grew up dirt poor with a dad who couldn’t be bothered to put food on the table. Crutchie got taken before he was old enough to know anyone. Race lost everyone he cared about when he was little, Romeo got tossed out ‘cause his family wouldn’t let him be a boy, even though he is, nobody wanted Specs because he’d deaf, all of us, we found each other. They’re the only family I’ve got. I’d die and kill for them. I have killed for them, the only time ever. I don’t hurt nobody ‘less they’re hurting somebody I love.”

“You love them?”

“Course I do.” David was silent for just long enough it made Jack nervous for what he was going to say.

“Do...am I one of them?”

“You mean do I love you?” David nodded. “Shit, Dave, isn’t what all this is about? When...when you climbed into the boat I was ready for a headache. And then you didn’t want to learn to swim, and couldn’t sleep in a hammock, and made me swim with a shirt on, and I thought I’d hate you.”

“But?”

“But you’re funny. And you work hard. And the longer you spent here the better you fit in, and then I started noticing stupid things. Like your crooked teeth. Don’t usually see that on a rich gentleman. And you wheeze when you laugh, and your eyes light up when you start talking smart, and...and yeah, I guess I love you. Too.”

“You really aren’t seeing Crutchie?”

“I see him every day.” Jack smiled slightly, but David just looked upset again. “No, David, we’re not together. I promise.”

“And you think I’m...you think I’m pretty?”

“I think you’re stunning. I love your hair and eyes and smile and how tall you are and-”

“And...and you like me. Romantically.”

“Yeah, David, I do.” David was silent again. “What...what does that mean? For us, I mean.”

“What do you want...want it to mean?”

“I’d...I’d like it to mean _us_. Together. If...if that’s what you want, too.” Jack trailed off awkwardly.

He was really bad at things like this.

“I...I think so. Yeah. It’s just...it’s weird.”

“What is?”

“That I’ve spent so long trying not to do...any of this. And now...I really want that. You.”

“It’s not weird if it’s who you are.” Jack said.

David finally relaxed from his curled up position, letting their legs press together and looking at Jack again.

“It is.”

“I know.” Jack smiled at David, and he smiled back. “I…I’m sorry. For hurting you.”

“You didn’t mean to.”

“No, but I did. And I’m sorry.” Jack shifted himself around in the tight space so he was sitting facing the same direction as David, their shoulders and legs both touching now.

“It’s…it’s okay.” Jack tangled their fingers together and felt David relax more, leaning against him. “I…I have no clue what I’m doing.”

“Just go with it.” Jack smiled. “What happens…happens.”

“I don’t like that. I want to know what’s coming.” He was smiling, though, and Jack could tell he didn’t really mean it.

“What’s coming, David Jacobs, is me falling in love you, and a rich boy falling in love with a pirate.”

“Falling in love.”

“Yeah. Falling in love.”

Now the silence between them wasn’t charged with anger or nervousness or any of the negative things that had been between them all day. David was smiling and resting his head on Jack’s shoulder, Jack was warm and happy, the sun was setting, and the water was glowing gold and red.

“Hey lovebirds! Dinner is ready!” Race called, from the deck this time rather than right next to them, interrupting their quiet time together.

The next few days incredible. When neither of them were doing anything, Jack and David spent time together, which wasn’t anything new, but it was new to have him not pull away from Jack’s touch, and to even be the one to touch Jack first.

Jack added several things to his list of things he loved about David Jacobs.

The way he blushed when Jack kissed him on the cheek.

The way he laughed quietly at his own jokes, which Jack had never noticed before.

How much he talked with his hands.

Of course, the crew cracked plenty of jokes. They always made David blush, and Jack laugh.

They got to Keelhaul Bay right on schedule, pulling in and docking in the dark, hidden little pirate town.

Other than Gasper’s, Keelhaul was just about the best hidden place on this side of the continent. It was just on the side of an island, protected by a reef and a shitload of pirates with cannons.

It was just about the sketchiest place Jack had ever been, and he’d been a pirate for a long time.

The people who frequented Keelhaul were often the bad kind of pirate. The kind who killed without caring, who stole whatever they wanted, and didn’t care who was affected by their actions.

The morning they arrived, everyone was quiet. Nobody much liked Keelhaul.

“You can’t get off the ship wearing that, Dave.”

“What’s wrong with it?” He was wearing the clothes he’d been wearing when he’d first joined their crew, sans a few of the gaudier additions he’d learned to do without, but the outfit obviously belonged to somebody wealthy, and David obviously belonged in it. 

“These are the kind of pirates you should be scared of, Dave. Dressing like that…they’ll be on you in a second. Just…dress like the rest of us.” He went to change and came back up looking a lot less put together, though still neater than the rest of them.

“Old habits die hard, huh?” Jack grinned at him, running his hand along the barrel of the cannon, coating his hands in grease and soot.

“What?”

“C’mere.” David stepped towards him hesitantly, and as soon as he was close enough Jack ran his hands through his hair, messing it up, and touched a few spots on his face and clothes.

“Disgusting! Jack!”

“Trust me. You’ll fit in better.”

“I’m taking a bath tonight.”

“Only if I can join you.” Jack grinned again and David blushed. “And I’ll do this again to you tomorrow. Sides, we’re sleeping on land for two nights and leaving as soon as we’ve got enough stuff to last us to Plicesy.”

“That’s where we’re going next?” David looked nervous.

“Not the main bay, a smaller one. The people there like us, and we have stuff for ‘em anyway.”

“Stuff?”

“You’ve seen the hold. You really think we have use for all that stuff? South side of Plicesy is poor. They run a marketplace, but pirates like these assholes steal from them.”

“So why are we here?”

“It’s safe. Everyone here has done worse than us, so they won’t sell us out. Everyone here ignores each other.” 

Jack and David were the last off the ship.

Specs and Buttons had taken a few people to load up on food, Finch had taken his people off to get supplies for sails and clothes, everyone else had gone off on whatever errands they’d been assigned.

David got more and more nervous the farther they got into town.

While Crutchie often dressed like an idealized version of a pirate, with his long hair and almost outlandish clothing choices, these people were what Jack knew real, bad pirates were like.

Smelly, dirty, and uncivilized. On their way to find a place to stay the night, Jack counted seven fights, possibly two dead bodies, though they may have just been passed out drunk, and watched several people get their purses cut right off of them.

“These people…”

“They’re terrible. They won’t mess with any of us.”

“Why not? You…did you do something to them?” Jack laughed.

“No, but they know us and Spot got an agreement and an alliance, and everyone is scared of him.”

“I…I thought he was a good pirate?”

“Oh, he is, but they don’t know that.” Jack grinned. “He spreads all kinds of rumors ‘bout himself and everyone here believe them.”

“Oh.” 

“Watch it there.” Jack pulled David sideways to avoid a puddle.

“Why?”

“What looks like water usually ain’t water.”

“Ugh.”

The two days they spent there really wore David out.

He was constantly on edge, looking around him like he was constantly terrified of everyone around him, which, to be fair, he was, and he never went anywhere alone, which actually made Jack less nervous.

By the time everyone was back on the ship, David looked ready to pass out and sleep for a week.

“If you wanna use my bed, you can.” Jack offered. “I know you don’t really like hammocks that much. And I gotta get this ship underway, anyway.”

“Thanks.” David kissed Jack on the cheek and slipped into their cabin.

“Ooh, Jacky’s gonna get some tonight.” Race teased.

“He ain’t if he expects me to still be his friend in the morning.” Crutchie said, but grinned at Jack.

“Shut up. He’s just sleeping.”

“Yeah. _Sleeping_.” Race stuck his tongue out ducked when Jack threw the bag of whatever he was holding at him.

“Hey! Our potatoes! No!” Buttons gathered up the spilled vegetables and glared at Jack.

“Sorry, sorry.” Jack went up by the wheel and watched his crew finish getting the ship ready to go.

The sails were raised and pulled tight, and the ship was moving slowly towards the mouth of the bay, where the reef was deep enough to cross over.

“Time to fly!” Crutchie called from his position on the bow, and the ship started to pick up speed, gliding through the gentle waves.

When Jack finally made it bed, David was curled up under the covers, fast asleep.

Jack tried to avoid waking him up, but as he pulled himself under the covers, David blinked up at him.

“Hey.” Jack smiled.

“Hi.”

“Good night.” David hummed and rolled over to face Jack.

“Night.” He closed his eyes and curled into Jack, resting his head on Jack’s chest and throwing an arm across Jack’s waist. Jack kissed his hair.

It was really nice to have finally sorted all that out.

“If you keep me up-“

“Jesus, Crutch, he’s already asleep.” Crutchie laughed.

“I don’t wanna wake up early, neither.”

“Promise.”

Jack almost always woke up at sunrise anyway. He loved watching it come up on the horizon, the way the stars faded, and how quiet it was across the water.

None of that was worth waking David up for, though, not when he was still tucked into Jack’s side, his mouth open, eyes closed, breathing deep.

That was too good to mess up.

Crutchie woke up a little after Jack did and grinned at him, shaking his head.

“Comfortable?”

“Very.” Jack snuggled down closer to David.

“You’re taking second shift if I have to dump a bucket over you.”

“I’ll be up by then.” Crutchie left them alone, though, closing the door quietly to avoid waking David up.

When he did wake up, he was adorably confused, blinking in the light.

“I…what time…huh?”

“It’s only a little after dawn, Davey, and you slept with me.” David peeked under the covers, making Jack laugh. “I mean you slept in my bed, love.”

“Oh.” David flushed. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” Jack kissed him on the cheek. “It was cute. And I’m not exactly opposed to the idea of sleeping with you in any way you could mean it, anyway.” David flushed darker and tucked his head into Jack’s shoulder, mumbling something. “What?”

“Me either.” David said louder, and Jack laughed again.

“Good to know.” Jack kissed his hair, pulling him in tight.

“Not now.” David clarified.

“I figured.”

“But…but eventually.” Both of them were laughing now, David probably out of a desire to ease his awkwardness and Jack because of how cute it was.

“You just let me know, Davey.”

Davey slept in his bed again that night, after they watched the sunset from the deck.

It turned the water gold and the clouds glowed, tomorrow was going to be beautiful.

And it seemed like David agreed.


End file.
